Photos From the Saddle

It amuses me that a disposal truck goes by such a name.

Anyway, it appears that we’ve got ourselves a genuine Indian Summer of sorts. No complaints on my part, especially given that I missed out on riding during July and August. Rolled out for the morning commute ’round 6:50 this morning and ran into a friend at the station—we ended up chatting ’bout most things bikes for the train ride.

It’s great to be regularly riding my bike again. I mean, really great. G’s out on vacation for a bit, then I’ll be out when he’s back… so it doesn’t look like we’ll be commuting together anytime before mid-October, but that’s the way it goes. Bottom line: I’m happy to be getting back into the habit of riding every day.

With most of the Karate Monkey’s parts on the way, I’ve been pondering the future of the Double Cross. Silly, I know. Logic would have it that I’d finish the Monkey up, sell the One Way and then ponder the Double Cross… but that big ‘ole bike show just got all sorts of ideas in my head. Anyway, I’m excited to see the Monkey get pieced together (and sell the One Way)… I should have a good number of the parts this and next week.

Doing the rounds, it appears that everyone is offering up some great post-Interbike analysis and coverage. While I had responsibilities to attend to, I did manage to walk around and take a look at what things are looking like for bike commuting. In short… there’s a lot to look forward to, as most everyone is taking note on the changing “landscapes” of transportation in general.

Showers Pass had a nice little around-town jacket that could do double-duty as a shell (not eVent, unfortunately) and as something you could walk into a nice restaurant wearing. This is a growing trend that thrills me, as it’s speaking more and more to the beginners and novices–the people who want to ride their bike more, but aren’t ready to make that leap into the Gearhead world and spend a lot of money on an activity-specific jacket.

I also stopped by the Chrome booth and checked things out. They didn’t have much in the way of softgoods, mostly bags, but word on the street is they’re going to have a midweight Shins offering along with some other pieces. I’m also fairly certain about a quarter of the show’s attendees bought one of their bags while there (read: thousands).

Some other tidbits… NiteRider’s got something in the works to rival PlanetBike’s supreme Superflash… Moots put together an exceptional commuter bike for those with a few dimes to spend… Civia’s Loring was truly a beauty… The rust red color for the Karate Monkey is pretty rad (but I’m still happy with mine)… Spot had a rad belt setup with a Nuvinci hub… And speaking of hubs, there were TONS of bike designs that were using internals.

There were also a fair number of electric-assist bikes, some touting that they were the future of transportation (period). A comment on the environmental impact of batteries and their real-world, potentially limited lives (how many charge cycles, decreasing output and storage capacity, etc.), got me thinking a bit beyond the initial “gee-whiz” impression that I had. More to come on that from more intelligent people, I’m sure.

Misc. thoughts: CrossVegas was pretty much rad (aside from the L word); the web 2.0 panel was a lot more insightful the first day; seeing the P4 getting set up for a photo shoot on the Venetian’s bridge at dusk was pretty amsuing, as were the Roman columns of Colnago’s booth and Rock Racing’s off-in-the-corner location; it creeps me out that I could walk a mile from my room to the convention floor and never step outside; getting reservations bumped up is pretty sweet; I should’ve taken photos; and my back is killing me.

Heading to Interbike tomorrow, and while I’m excited for the complete overload of all things bike… I’m also reluctant for the trade show aspect. We all gotta make a living somehow, I suppose. I’m curious to see how much focus is given to the commuting/urban cycling experience. Should be interesting.

So much to write, so little of it seems important. But… I’ve been riding and remembering what it is that can’t be put to words.

I gave up on the Open Sport/105 wheels after a series of frustrating and poorly timed un-truings/re-truings and picked up some used Ksyrium Equipes. With 1500 miles already on those wheels, plus the ~175 I’ve put on them since last week, I figure I’ll get about another 500 miles before I run into issues. 5 sets of wheels in less than 2 years. Still cheaper than sailing.

The big news is that the Karate Monkey arrived. Still debating whether to canibalize the One Way or try to sell it and build the Monkey from scratch. Decisions… decisions… one much cheaper than the other. A colleague suggested a wickedly good idea of picking up a HammerSchmidt. It’d be perfect… but it won’t happen. Still, I’m excited that it’s here and can’t wait to see it come together.

• Miles Ridden: ~75
• Miles Driven: 425 (135,815)

I finished up PT mid-August and have gingerly tested my Achilles with varying intensities of riding. Aside from the absolute lack of anything resembling fitness, I feel stronger with each ride… which is encouraging. The fitness thing is humbling, but also makes me grateful for what I have.

I’ve got a week until a big ride. If I’d been able to maintain my riding after May, I’d likely not even think twice about riding as many miles as possible… now… I’m thinking I might take it exceptionally easy. C’est la vie.

Otherwise, nothing much else to report. Likely going to sell the One Way (finally) and build a Karate Monkey as an single-speed commuter, pink fenders and all.